Word for the Travel Wise (08/17/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

News like this just tears my heart apart, because when people or children die at such an early age it as if they were never given a chance. This is from couple weeks back, but the article states about 29% of under five deaths in Sierra Leone is caused by Diarrhea. As travelers we’ve all probably ran into an ugly case of the vicious ‘D’ word, but 29% is a pretty high death rate for something that could probably be fixed so easy. Sad – just sad.

Today’s phrase is a Mende phrase used in Sierra Leone:

nyaa fisama – I am getting better.

Mende is going to be yet another toughie to learn online. For now I suggest going through this Mende Phrasebook published by the Bumumbu Press during colonial times to help Mende speakers learn English. In turn it can help you learn Mende in modern times.

Past Mende words: Nya sinjii ve, wa mu li na

Point It

by Adrienne Wilson on

A friend of mine was just telling me about this revolutionary book helping travelers globally become better communicators – Point It. I know we’ve had to have mentioned it here before, but it’s worthy of another blurb. The concept is quite easy. Let’s say you’re in a European restaurant. I’ll be more specific and say mmm… Latvia. You want to tell the waiter you do not wish to have Latvian bacon buns, but you know neither word in the lang. You’re stuck and destined to have this fine Lativan appetizer unless you can point your way out of it. You turn to your trusty Point It guide hoping it has bacon buns pictured with a huge red “X” in there somewhere. Does it? Heck, if I know – my copy is in the post, but you get the idea. If you don’t know how to say it there are 1,200 pictures so – point it.

via Flight 001

Word for the Travel Wise (08/16/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Isn’t it funny how we take so much for granted until we’re in a place lacking the modern conveniences we’re so very accustomed to? Looking at the picture included with today’s word from Lonely Planet’s online guide to Bulgaria made me think about the well-built bridges here in the U.S. Not to say that all are well-built, but I don’t know if you could get me to cross this eco-path located in the Negovanka Canyon of Bulgaria. The ‘most’ or bridge, made of only wood and stone looks pretty high from what I can tell and not as stable as I would like. Would you cross it?

Today’s word is a Bulgarian word used in Bulgaria:


most – bridge

The Bulgarian lang falls into the Southern branch of Slavic languages and is closely related to Macedonian. It is the official lingo of Bulgaria and can also be heard in parts of Greece, Turkey, Romania, and Serbia to name only a few. To continue learning Bulgarian online head to BBC for the QuickFix with audio for the most common travelers phrases. EasyBulgarian online offers guides and nine lessons that help beginners learn the alphabet, correct pronunciation in addition to dialog from native Bulgarian speakers. Find a Bulgarian pal online to help with conversation at My language Exchange or pick up an Eastern European LP phrasebook for the road.

Past Bulgarian words: mózhé bí

Word for the Travel Wise (08/15/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Hmmm….With each travel wise word feature I do I try to frequent the various tourism sites out there for each country. This Discovery Bangladesh seems like a newbie to me unless I missed it somehow, but the content is spectacular for travel planning. Very clean, neat and informative site for all things in and around this lesser explored Asian gem.

Today’s word is a Bangla (Bengali) word used in Bangladesh:

nir dohsh – free (gratis) as found in the LP phrasebook / innocent; as noted by Gadler

Web resources for Bangla are few, but you can pick up quite a few words reading (not skimming) through the Wiki and from this Bangalinet site which has a small tutorial on how to write in the script. Beyond those two I’m sure there are others, but as I mentioned above it was like pulling teeth to get this word. With that being said class is dismissed.

Past Bangla words: bhromon, shobbho

Word for the Travel Wise (08/14/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Technotrekker over at TravelPod.com is the kind of writer/traveler that keeps these websites going. In his Tallinn tales he provides more than enough photos and descriptions of the city to keep any reader entertained even if Estonia is not in the travel plans. He describes things from the country’s oldest pharmacy to the only bar in town dedicated to playing nothing but Depeche Mode. The author also claims four days may be a tad long for some folks, but if you like architecture, history, shopping and Depeche Mode you will probably do okay with that amount of time.

Today’s word is an Estonian word used in Estonia:

pood – shop

To learn more about the background of this Finno-Ugric lingo check out Wiki online which has a few words to get you started at the bottom of their page. To jump right into the meat of the language go to speakestonian.com.uk which has a long list of everyday phrases to use and several links to keep you learning using a variety of methods. For free mp3 downloads for your cell phone go to the BBC and to make a pen pal or two before your journey sign-up at My Language Exchange.

Past Estonian words: pearoad, tere